Weekend at Grandpas
by babyphd
Summary: Trouble during a weekend with the grandchildren.
1. Chapter 1

"Yes, Gus. We can go fishing. Camp David has a great lake with lots of fish."

Jed paused.

"Yes, Gus. We can go hiking in the woods."

Pause. Jed rolled his eyes as his grandson kept talking.

"Yes, Gus. I'm looking forward to it too. See you on Friday. And give Annie my love."

Pause.

"I love you too, Gus. See you soon. Bye."

Jed put the phone down and turned to Abbey, sitting across from him in their bedroom. But before he could say anything, he saw her smile.

"A chip off the old block."

Jed protested. "Abbey, I don't talk that much."

"Yeah, and the sun doesn't rise in the east."

"Well, okay. Sometimes I can get wound up."

"Sometimes?!"

"Yeah, sometimes."

"Jed, you could talk a concrete wall into splitting apart."

Jed grinned at her. She always had a way with the truth. "I'll ignore you for right now. Are the plans for the weekend set? I want it to be special. It's not everyday that we get to spend time with our grandkids."

"Well, Liz and Doug are looking forward to a weekend alone. It was nice for you to agree to this."

"Well, it's been so rare to spend anytime with them so I'm really looking forward to it. While I'm fishing, what are you and Annie going to do?"

"Quilts."

"Quilts?"

"Yeah. Annie has been after me to teach her how to quilt, just like I taught her mother and her aunts. It'll be fun." Abbey had shown all of her girls how to do it, a skill passed to Abbey from her grandmother. But only Liz had showed any appreciation for the work involved. So Abbey was excited that Annie had asked her grandmother for help

"Sounds like fun." Jed replied sarcastically.

"Well, for me it will be. More fun than fishing."

"I know. But I just wanted to do something together with Gus. You know, male bonding. Stuff like that."

"Well, I'm not cleaning those things. Even if you catch anything."

"I'll catch something. Just wait. Besides, how could those fish not jump onto the Presidential line?"

"Oh, Jed," as Abbey laughingly picked up a throw pillow and threw it at him.


	2. Chapter 2

Jed and Abbey watched from the front porch of their cabin at Camp David as the grandkids told their parents goodbye.

"Now you behave for your grandparents. You hear me?" Liz was giving them their last minute instructions.

"Yes, Ma'am," as Annie nodded her head.

With no response from Gus, Doug bent down into the boy's face. "What do you say, young man?"

"Yes, sir. I'll behave." Gus's smile disappeared for a moment as he realized his father was close to being angry.

"I mean it, young man. Do not cause them any trouble."

Gus nodded his head. "Yes, sir. I won't give Grandpa any trouble."

Abbey's heart broke for the little boy as Doug straightened up. "You call us if there's any problem."

Jed moved forward and enveloped Gus in a tight hug. "They'll be no trouble at all. None at all. We're going to have a great time, aren't we Gus?"

Gus turned his head up to look in his grandfather's eyes and smiled. "We'll have a great time."

Later, Jed and Abbey were enjoying hot dogs and baked beans with Gus and Annie. Abbey had worked for weeks to arrange Jed's schedule so barring an international incident, he and Abbey could enjoy the time with the grandchildren.

"Grandpa, when can we fish?" Jed didn't care for fishing, but he was keen on sharing something that Gus liked to do. Gus's enthusiasm made Jed feel that he had chosen the right thing to do with him.

"Tomorrow, Gus. After breakfast."

"Okay." Gus finished his hot dog and milk. He had been so excited all week that Liz finally had to take him to the store so he could have his very own fishing pole. He was almost as excited over this as he was on Christmas morning.

Later that evening, after the grandkids had gone to bed, Jed and Abbey were cuddling on the sofa in front of the fire. It was mid-spring, and the night air in the Maryland mountains was still chilly.

"Gus has grown up so much. I think he's an inch taller."

"Now, Abbey. Everytime you see them, you think they've grown."

"Jed, Gus is now six, almost seven and Annie will be sixteen in a couple of months. I call that growing up."

"Yeah, well I have to agree with you this time. In fact, they're growing up too fast."

"Children do that."

"I know. And we get older."

"How old are you?" Abbey stretched up and gave him a gentle kiss.

"Not too old for what you have in mind."

"Not tonight, Jed. Kids are in the house."

"Never stopped us before."

"Jed, let's just go to bed. You have a full day tomorrow."

"Well, I would like to have a full night."

Abbey laughed and gave him a playful slap. "Not tonight."

"Oh, hell."

"You'll survive, Pumpkin. Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The soft morning light filtered its way through the curtains in the cabin's bedroom. Jed rolled over, laying his arm over Abbey's softly rising chest. "Abbey," he whispered. "Are you asleep?"

"Mmmm."

"Abbey, are you asleep?" He leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek even as his hand found its way over her pajama covered chest.

"I was," as she groaned and opened one eye to see Jed looking at her. "What do you want?"

"Guess." He smiled as his hand moved down her body.

"Ugh." She made an effort to turn her back to him but was stopped by the force of his hands on her arms.

"No. You know exactly what I want. Here, feel." He placed her left hand over his growing bulge.

"Jed, I told you last night no sex with the children here." She shook her head, inwardly smiling at his persistence.

"I know. But I've been thinking about it all night. And now it's urgent. Our kids never stopped us."

"That's different. We were a busy couple and had to grab it whenever we could. Now we're a busy couple but we at least have some time to pursue 'recreational' activities. Beside, my special garments are back at the White House."

"You don't need a special garment for what I have in mind. In fact," as he reached to open the buttons on her top, "you don't need any garments at all."

Swatting at his hand, Abbey grunted and turned away. "No, Jed. The children will be awake any minute and they might surprise us. Not now."

Jed groaned and lay back on the bed. He watched his wife as she threw the covers off her side and sat up, her back facing him. "I love you, Abbey."

Abbey gave a small laugh. "Jed, you're not going to get any. Not this weekend. Now you need to get up and get dressed. Get your briefing and then come to the kitchen. I'll have breakfast ready."

She came around the bed and leaned down to place a quick kiss on her husband's lips. Jed quickly grabbed her arm and brought her down to the bed, pulling her over him to lie back in the exact same spot she had just abandoned. "Jed! Quit that. The children…"

His urgent lips quickly cut off anything she was about to say. After a deep kiss, he moved his lips to nibble on her neck. His hands quickly undid the buttons of her shirt and soon his hands were free to roam over her breasts and quickly hardening nipples.

"Jed…." was all she could respond, her breath coming faster as her excitement grew.

He pulled back from her face and smiled. "I always get what I want and I want you, hot pants."

Another deep kiss blocked Abbey's answer.


	4. Chapter 4

After a full breakfast, the four put on their jackets, grabbed the picnic basket, and headed down to the lake.

Because they were at Camp David, only one agent accompanied them. The Service allowed the First Family a greater degree of freedom at Camp David whenever they were here.

"Now, Grandpa? Now?" Gus was so excited. He had gone fishing with his dad several times but this would be the first time with his grandpa.

"Yes, Gus. Now, we'll go fishing. Got the worms?"

"Right here." Jed had to smile at the pride shown on Gus's face as he held up the worm bucket.

"Ugh. How can you even look at them?" Now it was Abbey's turn to smile at her granddaughter.

"That's how you catch fish, Annie. You can't catch anything without bait."

"I know, but those things are slimy. Ugh!"

"You don't need them to quilt."

"Thank goodness."

"Here, Gus. Put your life jacket on. You know anytime you're near the water you have to have it on." Abbey knelt down make sure it was secure.

"Why doesn't Grandpa get one?"

"Yeah, Grandpa, you want to explain that or should I?" Abbey looked up at her husband. They had had this argument too many times to count. She looked forward to his explanation this time.

"Well, I can swim."

"I can too."

"But not as good as me."

"I can too."

"Gus, you'll wear one and I won't. Let's get into the boat."

The small argument went away with a change of subject. Abbey just smiled. It was the old 'because I told you so' defense. Not new or original. But it worked this time.

Jed helped Gus into the small rowboat. They both sat down, and Jed started rowing out into the lake. It was a windy day, but the water was relatively calm. The lake was fed by mountain streams so the water temperature wasn't much above forty-five degrees. But the sun was shining brightly and it warmed everybody.

Jed knew he wasn't going to catch many fish due to the cold water temperature. But he didn't want to spoil Gus's fun. They tried for several hours and caught nothing before Jed was so exhausted he had to call time.

"Let's go in and gets something to eat. I bet Nana has some good food in that basket."

"Okay."

Abbey and Annie had spent the morning working on quilt squares and they were ready for lunch as well. Abbey saw Jed and Gus coming in and got the picnic spread out on the blanket.

"Had enough?"

"No. We are going back after lunch, right Grandpa?"

"Yeah." Jed said those words without any enthusiasm, but he and Abbey both knew that Grandpa would give in.


	5. Chapter 5

After lunch and a brief trip back to the cabin, Jed and Gus returned to the lake. Abbey and Annie had decided to stay at the cabin and enjoy the quiet while continuing to work on their quilt blocks.

"Annie, what's going on in your life?"

Annie blushed. "Nothing."

Abbey picked up on the blush and decided to push a little further. "Now come on. Something has to be going on."

Annie quit sewing and look at her grandmother. "Promise you won't tell my parents anything."

Abbey smiled. "Of course not. What you tell me will stay with me."

"Okay." Annie took a deep breath before continuing. "There's this guy at school. I kind of like him. But Dad doesn't. He says he will only be trouble."

Abbey looked at her granddaughter's worried expression. "Why?"

"I don't know. Says he's from the wrong family. But he's really kind to me and we have fun together. What should I do?"

"Does your Mom know about him?"

"Yes. But she thinks I'm over him. But I'm not, Nana. What should I do?"

Abbey paused, trying to think about her response. She had gone though this when Liz was Annie's age. Jed and Abbey had both forbid Liz to see a guy, but Liz rebelled and the result was a poor relationship with her parents for several years afterwards.

"I don't know, Annie. Let me think about it."

Back at the lake, the wind had picked up so the water was getting choppy. But Jed wanted to give Gus as much time on the water that he could.

"I got a bite!"

"Well, hook him. Reel him in."

Gus jumped up, excited that he had finally gotten a fish. "I got him! I got him!"

"Well, bring him in."

Jed finally realized that Gus's jumping up and down was rocking the boat.

"Calm down, Gus. Quit jumping."

Gus turned suddenly to look at his grandfather. That sudden movement was enough to tip the boat over and both occupants fell into the water.

The boat quickly righted itself.

But there was no sign of the occupants.


	6. Chapter 6

Abbey was still thinking about Annie's question, her call for help. She wanted to be supportive but that might go against what Liz and Doug wanted.

"Ma'am, may I speak with you privately?"

Abbey looked up from her quilt work to see the face of one of her agents.

"Sure. Annie, I'll be right back."

"Okay." Annie was concentrating on cutting the prices for her block.

The agent motioned her into the corner.

"Ma'am, there's a problem at the lake. The boat tipped over and both the President and your grandson have been thrown into the lake."

"Are they okay?" Abbey's heart skipped a beat, waiting for his answer.

"I don't know, ma'am. It just happened. I thought you'd want to go down there."

"Yes. Of course." She walked over to Annie as her heart started to race. "Annie, honey, there's a problem. I'll be right back."

But Annie could read the worry on her grandmother's face. "Nana, what is it? Is it Gus? Or Grandpa?"

"Yes, honey." Annie was too old for Abbey to lie to her. "Both of them. Their boat tipped over and we need to get down there right away."

"Let's go." Annie was out the door before Abbey could even blink. But she followed right after her granddaughter.

They both covered the distance to the pond quickly. As the lake came into view, Abbey anxiously looked to see who was on the shoreline. There was nobody.

She looked into the water and saw Gus trying to swim to shore. His life jacket was slowing his attempts to swim.

Another agent jumped in the water and within seconds had grabbed Gus. He was bringing the boy to the shoreline where Abbey and Annie stood.

"Jed? Where's my husband?" Abbey was shouting, but the agents were too busy to respond.

As Gus was deposited on front of Abbey, she knelt down beside the shivering boy. She quickly got the life jacket off and began to rub his back in an attempt to warm him. The agent who had rescued him returned to the water to help the first agent in his search for the President.

Repeated dives brought no results.

Abbey's attention was partially on her grandson and partially on the search for Jed. Where was he? Her panic quickly grew.


	7. Chapter 7

Valuable minutes passed. Still no Jed. 'Where was he and why couldn't the best trained agents in the world find him? How hard could it be?'

These thoughts were flying through Abbey's brain. She was physically trying to warm her grandson, but her mind was filled with worry over her husband.

Finally, she saw both agents break the surface of the water with the President's limp body between them. Jed was blue and looked like a rag doll being carried between two people.

The agents quickly brought him to shore and placed him on the ground. Immediately, Abbey ran to him and with pure instinct, began to make her assessment.

Pulse none. No breathing motions evident. Skin cold. Lips and fingers blue.

As Abbey was beginning resuscitation on her own, a firm set of hands took her by the shoulders and pulled her away.

"Ma'am, let the paramedics do their job."

"Yes." Abbey backed up reluctantly. "How long has he been in the water?"

The first agent said, "About ten minutes. Maybe just a little bit longer. He was caught in the fishing line and an underwater bush which prevented him from coming up."

"Is he…dead?" Abbey was trying to prepare herself for the worst.

The paramedics were beginning resuscitation efforts and were too busy to answer her questions.

"How's your grandson doing?" That came from the agent in charge.

In all her anxiety about Jed, she had almost forgotten that Gus had been in the water as well.

She looked around to find Annie comforting her shivering brother, with her agent kneeling on the other side, stroking his back and holding his hand. One of the other agents leaned down and placed a thermal blanket around Gus. Abbey was relived that Gus was being taken care of. She wouldn't have been able to give either of them her complete attention.

"He looks okay, but I assume you want to check him out."

"Yes, ma'am. We've requested a medical helicopter for both of them. Agent Butterfield will meet them at Bethesda and supervise their security. I assume you and your granddaughter will want to follow. Is that correct?"

"Absolutely." Abbey was grateful that somebody had a clear head at a time like this.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

About that time, the incoming helicopter was heard in the distance. Resuscitation efforts were continuing on the President.

"Is he breathing yet?" asked a worried First Lady, torn between her husband and her grandson.

"No, ma'am." Replied one of the agents standing over the paramedics as they frantically worked to bring back the President. Until a physician pronounced him dead, they really had no choice.

The helicopter landed and Jed was loaded on the stretcher and then returned quickly to the belly of the helicopter.

One of the agents turned to Abbey. "Ma'am, we'll take your grandson with us."

She looked down at Gus who had quit shivering by the time the helicopter had landed. A choice had to be made.

"No. I'll keep him with me." She didn't want him to be alone if Jed didn't make it. "Just get my husband to the hospital."

"Is Grandpa asleep?" Gus looked into his grandmother's face.

"No. He's very ill though. The men will take good care of him." Abbey didn't have anything else to tell Gus at this particular moment. But truly, she didn't want to think about what could happen.

Shortly after the medical helicopter left with the President aboard, Abbey, Annie and Gus followed in a second helicopter. For the duration of the fifteen minute trip, Abbey and Annie held each other's hands, not quite wanting to believe that the worse had occurred.

After a brief ride, the Marine helicopter landed on the pad at Bethesda. The group made their way from the landing pad through the front door.

Somehow the news of the President's accident had already been leaked. Some reporters had already shown up and camera flashes were going off in their faces. However, Abbey was more concerned about her man inside than the reporters outside. And she knew that CJ would handle the coming influx.

Her only destination was the Emergency Room and her husband.

As they turned the corner, they were met by a nurse who took them to the trauma room, where the President was being assessed.

As Abbey entered Trauma One, the doctor in charge stepped forward.

"Mrs. Bartlet, I'm Dr. Howard, Chief of Pulmonary Medicine. The President seems to be having quite a few problems. He's still not breathing on his own, so we are keeping him on artificial ventilation. He has a heart beat, but it is extremely slow and erratic. We can determine that was no physical injury. But we are very concerned about his body temperature. We have placed warming blankets around him, but feel very strongly we need to try something else. Something a little more drastic."

"What?" Abbey asked, not knowing what Dr. Howard was proposing.

"Ma'am, we can take him to the operating room and hook him to the cardiac bypass machine. We would make incisions into his groin and pump warmed fluid through his body until his core temperature is warm enough to sustain him. However, it is experimental and could cause more complications than it would solve."

Abbey looked at her unconscious, possibly dying husband. Would she gamble and risk him to an experimental procedure or assure his death by doing nothing?

With tears in her eyes, she nodded yes. Immediately, the trauma team rolled the President's stretcher out the door and ran down the hall. There was no time to waste.


	9. Chapter 9

"Ma'am. There's a phone call for you. It's your daughter."

Abbey took a deep breath and listened to a very worried Liz.

"The children are fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Gus swallowed some water but the doctor says he'll be fine."

"Dad?"

Abbey paused, trying to maintain her composure. "We won't know anything for a few more hours. They have him in the OR trying to warm him up."

"We're on our way back. We should get there in about two hours."

"No, really, there's no need to cut short your trip." Abbey halfheartedly tried to persuade them to stay. But with Ellie and Zoey still hours away, she needed her oldest daughter's support. "Gus is fine. And you can't help your father right now."

"Mom, you would be right there if it was one of us. No discussion. We're on our way. We need to be there not only for the kids, but also for you and Dad. Bye." With that, the phone went dead.

Liz ran down the hall when she saw her mother pacing. "Mom! How's Dad? Any news?"

Abbey shook her head. "No. I guess that means he's still alive."

Abbey reached out to hug her daughter, only then catching the wide eyes of her grandchildren. She pulled back and whispered to her daughter. "Liz, I think it would be best if Doug took the children back to the White House. They've been through enough. If Jed doesn't make it…" the rest of the sentence was left unspoken.

Liz looked at the kids, who were obviously frightened over what had happened. They needed at least one parent with them tonight. Liz needed to stay at the hospital with her mother.

"I think that's a good idea. Doug, let the Service take you and the kids back to the Residence. The Service will bring their suitcases back to the White House before you leave in the morning."

"Okay." He turned to Abbey, placing his arms around her and giving her a hug. "Jed will be okay. He's tough."

Abbey nodded. "I know Doug. But this time…" Again, Abbey left the words unspoken.

He motioned to the children to follow him, trying to maintain some sense of calm. He knew it didn't look good for his father-in-law and he knew the children needed a parent with them in case the worse happened.

"Keep me informed." One last hug and the group disappeared down the hall.

"Dr. Bartlet, I have news."

Two hours later, Abbey and Liz looked up from the waiting area when she heard Dr. Howard's voice.

"How is he?" Abbey prayed to hear a positive report.

"He's stable for the present. It has taken us four hours to get his core temperature up to 96 degrees. It is still below normal, but much better than it was. We have placed him a drug-induced coma so his vital organs won't need as much oxygen as if he was awake. His heart rate has stabilized but of course, he's still on the ventilator."

Abbey only wanted to know the answer to one question: "Will he be all right?"

Dr. Howard shook his head. "Truthfully, we don't know yet. He was underwater for a very long time, but the cold water sometimes is a friend and helps to minimize the need for oxygen. So even if he does live, there still might be some brain damage. We'll just have to wait this out."

Abbey nodded her head and squeezed her daughter's hand more tightly.

"Thank you. When can we see him?"

"There's still at least another hour on the bypass machine before we'll be able to transfer him to ICU. Once we get him there, I'll make arrangements for you and your family to have access."

Abbey pushed open the doors and saw an agent at the far side of the unit. As she walked over to where Jed was lying, her knees got shaky and she stopped to regain some measure of control.

She came into view of the bed and tried not to show the fear she felt. Jed had the breathing tube in, IV inserted, heart leads snaking over his head to the monitor, and other tubes coming out of every opening. She looked closer and noticed that a catheter had been inserted into his neck to measure heart pressures. Dr. Howard had failed to mention this. Abbey wondered if Jed was showing signs of heart failure. That's what this catheter is used for—to assess the strength of cardiac output.

She walked to the bed and reached for one of his hands. She noticed how cold it felt. That was also a sign that the heart wasn't able to pump well enough to get warmed blood to the extremities.

'Damn! Why do I have to know this stuff?' It was only hurting her to know so much.

She brushed her hand over his hair. Between the wind, the water, and everything else, it was going hundreds of directions. She brushed it off his forehead and planted a kiss there.

"Oh, Jed. You have got to be all right. You have to be okay." Tears falling from her face dropped onto his forearm. "You will be okay."

Finally, she released his hand and turned to leave. As she did so, she leaned against the wall, her demeanor finally cracking with muffled sobs.

A nurse quickly came to her aid and placed an arm around her. "Mrs. Bartlet, is there anything I can do?"

Abbey shook her head, tears still flowing down her face. "No. Not unless you can bring my husband back."

There was no response. Both women knew that the medical staff had done all they could. The President's condition was now up to a higher authority.


	10. Chapter 10

Ellie and Zoey arrived a few hours later. After briefly seeing their father, they came out as upset as everyone else.

"Mom, will Dad make it?"

Abbey took Zoey into her arms. "I don't know sweetie. He was submerged for so long. I just don't know."

The family tried to get some sleep but Abbey stayed awake, anxious for the least little bit of good news.

Time continued to drag. Leo had come out for a couple of hours, but returned to the White House when he realized there was nothing he could do.

Dr. Howard, and his partner, Dr. Taylor, spent the night making hourly assessments. But until they reversed the coma, there was little new information.

By morning some progress had been made. The doctors removed the ventilator when he started to trigger the machine himself. Later in the night, the President was transferred to the Presidential suite after he stabilized medically during the night.

Abbey knew the transfer was a good sign. A sign that he was recovering.

By the next morning, Jed's core body temperature had risen to ninety-eight degrees. The doctors decided that they would reverse the coma so they could begin the assessment of any damage.

By noon, he was responding to painful stimuli, which meant he was out of the coma, but not yet completely awake. He could be given medicine to speed the process, but the doctors wanted to see if he could bring himself out of it.

They asked Abbey and her daughters to stimulate him with familiar words and sounds. But the girls decided that their mother needed to try alone first. They knew if he didn't respond to her, he wouldn't respond to anybody.

Abbey walked over to his bedside and started brushing his arm with her hand. Back and forth. Back and forth.

"Jed, it's time to wake up. You've been asleep too long. Wake up, pumpkin."

No response.

"I'll pull you out myself if you don't get up." Still no response.

Abbey leaned over the bed and gave him a typical wake-up kiss.

If that didn't do it, nothing would.

Abbey stepped back, her hand still resting on his arm.

His eyelids fluttered, then opened gradually. They focused on the ceiling before traveling to his side in an attempt to find the source of that kiss.

"Wake-up, my prince charming. You've been asleep for a while." Abbey smiled. "How are you?"

Jed returned the smile. Then his mouth moved. But there was no sound. No response.

His face grimaced as he tried to form the words, but no sound was forthcoming.

There was no sound coming from his mouth.


	11. Chapter 11

"Jed, can you speak? Keep trying."

It was very evident that he was. He was trying so hard that his face was flushed. Abbey could tell that he was very frustrated and very scared.

"Okay, hon, calm down. There could be any explanation for this. Let me go get the doctors and let them determine what has happened. Do you understand me?"

Jed nodded in agreement.

Abbey tried to swallow her rising concern. She had to keep her face neutral while her mind and her heart were swirling with fear.

She left and went to find Dr. Howard. She spotted Dr. Taylor and tried not to run.

"He's awake."

"That's great." A smile broke across the doctor's face.

"But he can't speak. There's no sound coming from his throat."

Dr. Taylor quickly became serious. "No sound?" even as he started walking toward the President's room.

"What has happened?" Abbey was once again full of questions that didn't have any easy answers.

Jed's POV:

'I'm awake. I hear. I understand. But there's no sound. No matter how hard I try there is no sound. No way of telling Abbey how much I love her. No way to tell others how much I care about them. No way to tell my staff what needs to be done. No way to express my wishes to the country. No sound. That's frightening. No way to hear yourself. To hear the way you command others. To share ideas, hopes, and promises. To ask others to carry out your wishes. To express the joy of being alive. To tell my daughters they need to behave. How long will this last? Forever? No. It can't. How can God be that mad at me? How can I ask Him? How I can tell my grandchildren all I need to share with them? I'm awake. I hear. I understand. But there's no sound.'

Abbey's POV:

'He's awake. He hears. He understands. But there's no sound. I can't believe this is happening. He survived. He has always been a survivor. He has a voice that has always brought emotion to me. A voice that exudes love. A voice that commands. A voice that can rise in anger or rise in passion. A voice that that can lower in anger or lower in passion. A whisper that excites me. A whisper that frightens me. A whisper that controls a room better than any voice ever could. A whisper that can bring laughter to his daughters or signal danger. He's awake. He hears. He understands. But there's no sound.'


	12. Chapter 12

"Mr. President, Dr. Bartlet, this complication is unexpected. We'll need to do some further testing and check your throat, especially your vocal cords. I've called in a specialist to do this. You know what a bronchoscopy is Dr. Bartlet, but for your benefit, Mr. President, we'll give you a mild sedative and then look at your throat through use of a special instrument. You won't remember anything about it and you'll wake up back here."

Abbey could tell Jed wanted to say something, but couldn't. She knew he had to be totally frustrated. He was so vocal in everything that he did. "Jed, it is the best way of finding out what's going on. We do need to know."

Noting his frustration, she handed him a piece of paper and a pen. "Here. Tell me what you think."

For the first time in thirty-six hours she laughed. "No, dear. You cannot have any ice cream afterwards. In fact, until this whole episode resolves itself, food of any kind except through your IV will not be allowed."

Abbey could see the disappointment on her husband's face. "Don't worry. When this is all over, I'll even let you have a steak." She was rewarded with a broad smile.

"Okay. I'll see you downstairs." Both Abbey and Jed nodded as Dr. Taylor left the room to prepare.

Jed looked into Abbey's eyes. Somehow, he needed to get across his feelings to her. His feelings of fear. His feelings of love for her staying by his side. But he couldn't.

Abbey sensed his feelings and leaned over him to whisper her support and understanding. "Jed, it'll be fine. You'll be back here in no time. And then maybe we'll have some answers."

Jed returned to his room within the hour, sleeping soundly. Abbey sat by his bedside, thinking about what the future held. 'What if his voice never returned? What if there's permanent damage? Will I ever hear him say again he loved me? Words on paper are not quite the same.'

In a few minutes, Dr. Taylor returned with a physician Abbey had never seen before. She must be the specialist called in to check the President.

"Let's go out into the hall, Dr. Bartlet, so we don't disturb him."

Abbey followed them into the hall, praying for strength to handle whatever they were about to tell her. She hoped she could handle the worst of the outcomes, silently praying for the best possible. How strong was she going to have to be?

"Mrs. Bartlet, this Dr. Ridge. She performed the test on the President. I'll let her tell you what we found."

"We looked extensively at the vocal cords, and the surrounding tissue and I'm please to say there's no structural damage. The cords are visually intact with no polyps or abnormal tissue present."

"Then why can't he talk?"

Dr. Ridge looked at Dr. Taylor and subtly nodded her head.

Dr. Taylor responded to the First Lady. "We think there's a viral infection in the cords from him swallowing the pond water while he was submerged yesterday. There's no treatment except resting his voice and waiting for the infection to recede. That might happen in a day, or a week. There's no way to know for sure. He's definitely improving in all of the other problems that were caused by the drowning and I could discharge him in the morning, if he feels okay."

"Well, he'll be glad to 'hear' that."

Both Abbey and Dr. Taylor heard the emphasis she placed on the word 'hear'.

"Thank you both for everything. I'm sure he'll want to get out of here in the morning, so let's plan for that. In the meantime, one of our family members will stay with him. I don't want him getting scared that he can't call for help if he needs something."

"Yes, ma'am."

What else could they say? Nothing was going to speed the healing process. It would occur when it was time. And not before. They certainly understood the First Lady's frustration. They just wished they could help both of them.


	13. Chapter 13

The President was discharged late the next afternoon and returned to the Residence.

Jed was writing down his questions, but Abbey could tell the frustration was building.

As Abbey looked at him, Jed slammed the paper down and threw the pen across the room.

She quickly went to his side. "It's okay to be frustrated. You have to remember that this is temporary, it won't last forever."

"Are you sure?" Jed wrote.

"Yes, I'm sure. We have to have faith."

All he could do was to pull her closer and give her a kiss.

"I love you too, Jed. We'll get past this."

The next day, Abbey was in the bathroom while Jed was getting dressed. He felt well enough to at least go to the Oval Office and read through the paperwork at his desk.

Leo had already told the staff what to expect and how to converse with him. Treat the President as normal as possible and don't expect lengthy responses. The best questions were those that could be answered with as few as words as possible.

As he turned towards the closet, he stumped his foot on the bed.

"Damn! That hurts!"

Abbey flew from the bathroom. "What did you just say?"

"I said…wait a minute. I just said damn. And you heard me. You heard me."

They hugged and shouted for joy.

"Abbey, my voice is back."

"Sounds like that to me." Abbey had never seen such a broad smile on her husband's face.

He pulled back and looked directly into his wife's eyes. "I love you, Abbey. Always have. Always will."

Tears fell from her eyes.

"Shh, Abbey. It'll be okay. I'm fine. But you know, I was so afraid that I would never be able to say those words again."

"And I was so afraid that I would never hear those words again."

They sat on the bed for a few minutes with Jed over and over again telling Abbey how much he loved her. Although it had only been a couple of days, he realized how much he missed telling her those three little words.

He made a vow then and there to always remind her how much she meant to him.

To say those three precious words over and over again 'I love you'.

THE END


End file.
